Fox Run Management L.L.C. Boosts Stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Fox Run Management L.L.C. increased its position in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 66.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,345 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 4,907 shares during the quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Masco were worth $896,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Masco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,542,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Masco by 5,050.0% during the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,300 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $747,000 after purchasing an additional 10,100 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in Masco by 44.5% during the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 20,448 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,484,000 after purchasing an additional 6,296 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in Masco by 40.2% in the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 11,351 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $824,000 after purchasing an additional 3,257 shares during the period. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Masco in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.78, for a total transaction of $225,317.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 33,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,370,678.06. This trade represents a 8.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total value of $1,658,768.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,601,988.12. The trade was a 26.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MAS. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Masco from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $96.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $74.00 price objective on shares of Masco in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Masco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.32.

Masco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MAS opened at $69.65 on Friday. Masco Co. has a 12 month low of $63.81 and a 12 month high of $86.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. Masco had a return on equity of 838.32% and a net margin of 10.50%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Masco Co. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is an increase from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.98%.

Masco Company Profile

Masco Corporation designs, manufactures, and distributes home improvement and building products in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company's Plumbing Products segment offers faucets, showerheads, handheld showers, valves, bath hardware and accessories, bathing units, shower bases and enclosures, sinks, toilets, acrylic tubs, shower trays, spas, exercise pools, and fitness systems; brass, copper, and composite plumbing system components; connected water products; thermoplastic solutions, extruded plastic profiles, specialized fabrications, and PEX tubing products; and other non-decorative plumbing products.